Producer-Mentor

About BBC Media Action

Job Summary

The Producer-Mentor will be responsible for supporting training workshops, and providing mentoring support, to several Afghan FM stations from the Eastern region (probably Khost, Paktia, Paktika, and/or Nangarhar provinces). The training and mentoring programme will continue for about 18 months. The Producer-Mentor will provide advice, support, resources, ideas, and help with planning to each FM station individually, through a mixture of email and phone contact, and face to face visits to each station. The Producer-Mentor will therefore contribute to increasing the capacity of each radio station to produce programming that improves rates of childhood vaccinations among the stations’ audiences. The role will also provide some production support to other media outputs produced by the BBC as part of this project.

Duties & Responsibilities

Manage relationships with the FM stations throughout the project, and be their main of contact.

Support the design of training workshops in Kabul for FM stations, and manage logistics and arrangements for those workshops.

With support from BBC Media Action’s Health and Production Trainers and the Project Manager, develop and implement a mentoring plan with each FM station, detailing the type and frequency of mentoring; ensure these plans achieve capacity building goals that the Health and Production Trainers set. Plans should be tailored to the needs and capabilities of each FM station.

Support FM stations to understand and use online learning resources that the project will provide.

Undergo training and mentoring from the Health Trainer to gain knowledge of health communication; childhood vaccination; and polio; and proactively update this knowledge throughout the project.

Support FM stations to produce content on child vaccination and polio that is based on knowledge and research; that is accurate and counters rumours and misinformation on these topics; and that is engaging and makes audiences want to listen. This includes helping stations develop and realise creative ideas for various different formats (public service advertisements, features, interviews, drama etc.)

Advise FM stations to help them maintain strong production and editorial values.

Use project contacts to link FM stations to contributors, interviewees etc. for their content on child vaccination and polio, where appropriate.

Support other project teams in the production of other project media outputs where necessary.

Perform other duties as requested by Project Manager and liaise with other internal teams as required.

Job Requirements

High School, Bachelors degree
Essential skills and experience

Experience in radio production in Afghanistan, with proven experience exercising editorial responsibility and judgement on controversial topics.

Experience of making radio programming on social or cultural topics.

Creativity and ability to address difficult issues in innovative and effective ways through radio.

Experience of advising or mentoring media professionals.

Ability to assess safety and security issues involved in media production and reporting.

Fluent Pashto speaker with familiarity with the Eastern region of Afghanistan.

Ability to travel to urban areas in Eastern region of Afghanistan, probably including Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Nangahar (subject to BBC security approval for such travel).

Strong planning and organizing skills, including some understanding of project management.

Desirable skills and experience

Understanding of the radio audience in Eastern Afghanistan and how to reach different sections of this audience.

Understanding of childhood vaccination and/or polio, or experience working on health projects.

Experience of leading capacity building projects.

Knowledge and experience of international development.

Competency in relevant local dialects of Pashto.


Competencies
The following competencies (behaviors and characteristics) have been identified as key to success in the job. Successful candidates are expected to demonstrate these competencies.


Communication: The ability to get one’s message understood clearly by adopting a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and the nature of the information.


Managing Relationships: Able to build and maintain effective working relationships with a range of people. Team working.


Imagination/Creative Thinking: Is able to transform creative ideas/impulses into practical reality. Can look at existing situations and problems in novel ways and come up with creative solutions.


Planning and Organizing: Is able to think ahead in order to establish an effective and appropriate course of action for self and others. Priorities and plans activities taking into account all the relevant issues and factors such as deadlines, staffing and resources requirements.


Flexibility: Adapts and works effectively with a variety of situations, individuals or groups. Is able to understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives on an issue, to adapt an approach as the requirements of a situation change, and to change or easily accept changes in one’s own organisation or job requirements.


Problem Solving: Able to simplify complex problems, processes or projects into component parts, explore and evaluate them systematically. Able to identify causal relationships, and construct frameworks, for decision making and problem-solving. Transforms proposals/ideas into practical reality.

Submission Guideline

Please e-mail your application to the below email ID, no later than 7 December 2014. All applications should include a CV and a cover letter providing evidence that you have the skills and experience required for this position. Shortlisted candidates only will be contacted within 1 week of the deadline.

Functional Area

Media

Countries

Submission Email

openjirga@bbcmediaaction.org

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